Curtis Raye Edwards
September 21, 1991
San Antonio, Texas
MySA.com
San Antonio, Texas
Web Posted: 02/22/2007 03:09 AM CST
Cabbie killer's '91 sentence tossed
Maro Robbins
Express-News
One of the youngest murderers ever convicted in Bexar County could get a new prison sentence because missing court records have hobbled his appeal of the 27-year term he received when he was 4 feet tall and 12 years old.
Now 5 feet, 8 inches and 27, Edwin Debrow Jr. owes his second chance largely to his own legal work and to the 4th Court of Appeals, which on Wednesday tossed out his sentence for the 1991 shooting of cabdriver Curtis Edwards.
Once cited as an example of horrifying urban violence by former President Bush, Debrow's crime and trial were closely followed, but afterward his case received little scrutiny.
First, his appointed attorney's filing error undermined his 1992 appeal. Then, 13 years later, when Debrow won a chance to appeal again, the record of what five witnesses said at his punishment hearing had been lost or destroyed.
"It's hard to give him a fair appeal if we don't know what the jury heard," said Susan Edwards, the lawyer who handled Debrow's 2005 appeal and is not related to the slain cabdriver.
Exactly what happened to the transcripts from the punishment hearing is unknown; however, the evidence that led to the guilty verdict is still on file.
[File Photo] Caption: One of Bexar County's youngest killers, then-12-year-old Edwin Debrow, was convicted in 1991 of shooting and robbery of a cab driver. He served time first in juvenile and then in adult prison.
One witness saw a small child limp from the spot where the cab crashed with its already slain driver at the wheel. Soon afterward, an injured Debrow went to the hospital.
There, security guards and nurses said, he asked about recent murders, predicted his arrest and bragged that he'd already killed a man.
At the trial's end, the child sat in court, swinging a manacled leg back and forth. "It was a (expletive) verdict," Debrow said. "They (jurors) did what they thought they should do and now I'll do all I can to appeal."
Appealing proved easier said than accomplished.
Months after Debrow was convicted, the 4th Court quickly dismissed his appeal because the lawyer appointed to represent him, Andrew Brandt Logan, failed to file necessary paperwork.
Debrow's file is now thick with handwritten letters and pleadings prepared on prison typewriters — all documenting the young inmate's attempts to figure out the legal system and resurrect his appeal.
Between questions about legal procedure, Debrow's letters wished court staff a happy Halloween or Thanksgiving, mentioned a prison outbreak of chicken pox or an inmate beaten to death and talked about focusing on his will to survive.
(Courtesy TDCJ)
Edwin Debrow Jr.
One typed document says Debrow finally spoke by phone with Logan in 1995 only to learn his conviction already had been affirmed three years earlier. The inmate requested a copy of the attorney's brief, but it never arrived.
Logan could not be reached for comment. His office phone number is no longer in service, and the State Bar of Texas lists him as on probation after having earned two public reprimands and a suspension in the years since he represented Debrow.
Debrow currently works in a prison cafeteria and has been disciplined at least 10 times in the last three years for a range of rule violations, from barricading himself in a recreation room to having too many sheets on his bed.
The district attorney's office has not yet decided its next move. Prosecutors may ask the 4th Court to reconsider its ruling and, if necessary, take the case to the Texas Supreme Court.
Should Wednesday's ruling remain intact, Debrow would get credit for time served when he is resentenced. However, his return to Bexar County courthouse would not come without risk.
When he was a baby-faced sixth grader so small deputies had to lift him into their vehicle, a jury needed little more than an hour to decide on a sentence of 27 years.
"What's problematic for him is now he's a grown man," said Dan Thornberry, the assistant district attorney handling the appeal. "He's not going to look like a 12-year-old."
Another jury might sentence him to the maximum of 40 years.
mrobbins@express-news.net
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ KSAT-TV Channel 12 (San Antonio, Texas) June 4, 2007 Cab Driver's Killer May Get Plea Deal POSTED: 1:15 pm CDT June 4, 2007 SAN ANTONIO -- A 27-year-old man who was convicted of killing a taxicab driver when he was 12 years old was in court Monday for a hearing to determine his future. Edwin Dubrow was in court less than a week after the 4th Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that an error in the punishment phase of his trial be tossed out. The conviction was upheld. The ruling means that Dubrow could get a new trial or he may be allowed to reach a plea bargain. "Everybody deserves a chance," Ebony Rosiles, Dubrow's sister, said following the hearing. "He did something horrible ... But I ask that you give him a chance at being a man, to come into this world and live a life with peace, love and his family." Dubrow has served 15 years of his 20-year sentence for the slaying. Another hearing to determine the next step of the judicial process is scheduled for July 9. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Edwin Debrow at the time of his arrest, age 12
Edwin Debrow in prison 15 years later
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